


Observations

by HeavyHeartstrings



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Humor, M/M, Olette's POV, Romance, au-ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 13:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16787575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeavyHeartstrings/pseuds/HeavyHeartstrings
Summary: Even from a young age, Olette was constantly observing the people around her. She was pretty good at hiding her inquisitive gazes behind her gentle emerald eyes, and her knowing thoughts behind a sweet smile.Not that she had anything to hide, she just preferred not to show her hand often.And when she did, it took everyone by surprise.





	Observations

**Author's Note:**

> So this is something new for me. I've never written anything romantic from the point of view that wasn't the people directly involved. But I think it turned out decent, and I hope you enjoy it!!

Olette has always been a pretty attentive girl. She picked up on things quicker than others, especially when it came to reading people. Call it a woman’s intuition or luck, but the girl had a talent. She payed attention to the nonverbal cues; the body language, gestures, nervous habits and so on. She kept her poker face in check whenever she noticed things, not wanting to give any room for suspicion. And she _listened_. Beyond the words people spoke and the way they phrased them, Olette listened for things like the hitch of someone’s breath when they were debating whether to admit something, or a pause between sentences as they decided what to say next. She’s good at telling when someone is lying, and prides herself in her ability to call people out on it.

Even from a young age, Olette was constantly observing the people around her. She was pretty good at hiding her inquisitive gazes behind her gentle emerald eyes and her knowing thoughts behind a sweet smile. Not that she had anything to hide, she just preferred not to show her hand often. And when she did, it took everyone by surprise.

One afternoon following school when she was twelve years old, she was hanging out with Hayner, Pence and Roxas in the Sandlot. Hayner had just received a brand-new Struggle bat for his birthday and was eager to use it in practice against Roxas. The two sparred for some time, Hayner beating the blue-eyed blond each round. Roxas surrendered after being beaten for the fourth time, saying he was too tired to keep going. Hayner pumped his first in the air, bouncing around and saying that his new Struggle bat made him pretty much invincible.

As he was boasting loudly, Seifer and his gang stalked into the Sandlot and Seifer turned his head towards the loud blond, a challenging smirk coming to his face. Olette saw it out of the corner of her eye as they approached.

She clenched her fist hesitantly, waiting for Hayner to notice the bully. The brown-eyed blond was still marching around completely oblivious, waving his Struggle bat in the air and proclaiming that he’s going to kick ass in the upcoming tournament. Pence was staring at Olette with an unsure look on his face, silently wondering if they should alert Hayner. Even Roxas looked up from his sprawled position on the ground and saw Seifer approaching them.

“Are you done yet, lamer? No one’s listening to you.” Seifer called out towards the adolescent.

The brown-eyed boy glanced up sharply towards the older teen’s voice, his mouth opened mid-sentence. His expression quickly became serious and he pointed his Struggle bat at Seifer.

“Ah! Seifer,” the preteen drawled, a confident smirk planting itself on his face. “Just the poor sucker I wanted to see.”

Olette saw the way the older blond’s smirk fell quickly, and how he crossed his arms defensively, glaring at Hayner.

“You better watch where you’re pointing that thing Chickenwuss.” Seifer commented, holding his hand up to lower the Struggle bat. Hayner pulled the bat towards himself sharply, taking a step back.

“Get your grimy hands off of my Struggle bat! If you wanna get your ass kicked, grab yours and let’s go!” He said, bending his knees and falling into his ready stance.

Seifer cocked his head to the side slightly, narrowing his eyes and giving the younger boy an amused expression.

“As much as I’d like to make you eat those words, I have somewhere to be.” The teen said lowly, turning away from the group and beginning to walk back towards Rai and Fuu.

Olette blinked, confused for a moment as she watched Seifer walk away. Just as the words left his mouth, she saw his gaze shift to the side of him and his right index finger tapped against his thumb twice. She pursed her lips slightly, sneaking a glance at Pence and Roxas to gauge if they noticed. The other two boys were staring at the scene apprehensively, unsure if they were going to have to be involved or not. But they didn’t seem to notice Seifer’s behaviour.

She let out a quiet breath, her eyes trailing back to Seifer’s retreating form.

 _He’s lying._ She thought to herself. _But why?_

Just as the thought crossed her mind Hayner opened his mouth to yell at the bully. “Oh _how convenient_. He has to leave just after seeing how powerful my new bat is!” The brown-eyed boy taunted, waving his bat.

Seifer paused mid-step, his back still turned on them. Olette glanced at Hayner, wondering if it was enough for him to take the bait.

The grin that formed itself onto his face was enough to tell her before he even said anything.

“I didn’t realize you were such a coward, Sei-fer!” Hayner called out to the taller teen.

Olette knew after that it would be a screaming match, alongside a rough version of Struggle (Olette doesn’t even think you could consider it Struggle though- mostly its just Hayner and Seifer trying to break each other’s bones) that ended with both of the boys covered in bruises. Hayner had a few more than Seifer, but the ones that were on the older teen formed into dark purple hues that were prominent on his skin.

Seifer stood up as they concluded their match, leaning his head back and panting heavily. Hayner rose as well, wincing as he put weight onto one of his feet (Seifer had tackled him towards the end of their match). Olette caught the nanosecond glance Seifer spared towards Hayner’s foot before he scowled, turning away to walk back with Rai and Fuu.

They decided to go to the Usual Spot after that, so they could fix Hayner up and get some ice cream before they all had to go home for the night. Roxas made him a makeshift ice pack, putting some ice cubes from their cooler into a cloth and wrapping it into a ball. He passed it to Hayner as the boy rested his ankle on a wooden crate, keeping the injury elevated. Even though he was covered in bruises, Hayner sat on the old beat-up couch with a sea-salt ice cream bar in one hand and an ear-splitting grin on his face.

And when Olette stood up twenty minutes later to begin her trek home (as she lived both further away from the other boys and in the opposite direction), waving goodbye to her friends and wishing them a good rest of their night, she walked towards Central Station with her hands in the pockets of her loose sweater, still feeling off about the situation.

It was with good reason that she felt this way as well, because as she grew older alongside Hayner and Seifer, she noticed their relationship began to manifest itself from one born of pure dislike for each other to something almost… amicable. Olette knew that Hayner definitely didn’t hate Seifer nowadays as much as he used to when they were younger. Her friend would still bite out insults at the bully nearly every time they saw each other, and yet the bark was nearly not as bad as it used to be.

This didn’t bug Olette in the slightest. To be honest, she was pretty relieved by it. Hayner and Seifer had known each other pretty much since Roxas, Pence and herself had, giving Olette more than enough time of listening to their fighting. What made her feel a little confused still, was that there seemed to be something else between the two that had never been addressed. Something that she caught onto the last day of seventh grade.

The final bell had just rung and students began pouring out into the halls; some yelling in excitement, others walking with their friends as they discussed summer plans. Olette walked out of her class alone and turned down a corner to walk towards Roxas’ locker. The four friends planned on going back to his house for the evening, ordering a pizza and having a campfire to celebrate the start of summer vacation.

Olette was the last to arrive at the locker, her three friends chatting happily with each other.

“Man, I am so excited for summer vacation!” Pence cheered out, smiling as Olette approached them. She nodded at her friends, smiling in greeting.

“This is going to be the best one yet! I say we make a list; a different thing to do each day of the month!” Hayner said, balling his fists in excitement.

“You do realize we’re all broke, right?” Roxas commented, taking some books out of his locker and stuffing them in his bag. “And there’s only so much we can do around here for free.”

“Aw, Roxas you’re such a wet blanket.” Hayner whined, leaning against the locker.

“We gotta get our homework done first,” Olette commented, tucking some hair behind her ear. “I’m not leaving it to the last minute again. I want to enter grade eight stress free.” She said, folding her hands together.

“I second that.” Roxas said, closing his locker. “Last year was awful. Supposed monsters being sighted around the Old Mansion? That one was weak.”

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad.” Hayner muttered, crossing his arms as they began to walk towards the school exit.

“Tall, white, lanky, human-like figures swarming people and attacking them wasn’t bad?” Pence asked, bumping Hayner’s shoulder playfully. The brown-eyed blond swatted at him lightly, rolling his eyes.

“Alright, I’ll admit there were some flaws.” Hayner said, opening the front door of the school and holding it for his friends. “But don’t worry, we’ll walk into eighth grade like it’s nothing.” He said casually, walking down the street.

“Eighth grade will be awesome,” Pence said. “And I bet you’ll love it especially Hayner, seeing as Seifer’s gone off to high school now! That’s a whole year Seifer-free!” He exclaimed.

“Doesn’t get much better than that.” Roxas commented, walking next to Olette. She looked up to Pence and Hayner walking in front of them, looking towards the brown-eyed blond. He laughed along with them quietly, but his gaze looked kind of mournful, like he had just realized that he was about to lose something important to him.

“You got that right.” Hayner chimed in, laughing quietly. Olette saw the way Hayner looked down at his feet as he said it though, and the way he shifted the shoulder strap of his backpack anxiously. She chewed on her lip thoughtfully, wondering if she should ask him about it. But Hayner wasn’t the most open with his emotions, and he probably wouldn’t like her asking him about it around Pence and Roxas as well.

So Olette stayed in a neutral position for a long time. She came to realize fairly quickly that Hayner didn’t even really understand what he was feeling towards Seifer. He would bring the bully up in conversations sometimes, musing about what the older teen was up to nowadays. Pence and Roxas didn’t seem to find it weird, each expressing that he was probably still being the same arrogant guy as always.

But it fed into Olette’s thoughts and assumptions even more. She began having ideas that maybe Hayner had some kind of infatuation with Seifer. It seemed crazy, even just thinking it. Anyone who knew Hayner and Seifer knew that they were as far away from liking each other as possible. She might just be presumptuous and be making wild assumptions, but there’s something inside of her that couldn’t help starting to believe it the more and more she thought about it. Still, she chose not to say anything to anyone, especially Hayner, because she didn’t quite think anyone would understand her thought process. Or agree with her for that matter.

She broke the neutral barrier when Seifer did something strange though. When she was fifteen, Olette and Hayner were sitting in a booth at Mickey’s House as they worked on a history project together. They had decided to spend some time researching at the diner after school, brainstorming ideas for their project. After a couple hours of work, they decided to wrap it up for the night, closing their laptops and setting them to the side of the table.

They ended up sharing a chocolate milkshake, both of them loving the treat, but never being able to finish one on their own. The waitress brought it to them with one straw and they both looked at each other and shrugged. When you’ve been friends with someone nearly for life, sharing a straw was fine. Plus, Olette already felt bad enough for using plastic straws in the first place.

She was in the process of discussing her weekend plans with Hayner when she heard a familiar voice call out towards them.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” Seifer drawled out, walking towards them with a sly smirk on his face. Olette paused, looking towards the older teen walking towards them and staring at him blankly. He stared back at her for a moment, then his gaze turned cold and his eyes sharpened. She kept her cool, eyes shifting to Hayner as the gears in her brain began to spin.

“What do you want?” Hayner muttered, looking up at Seifer just for a second before he let his gaze fall back to Olette. Olette shared a glance with her friend before she looked up at Seifer again, who was now standing in front of their table with his arms crossed. The bully was staring at Hayner pointedly, narrowing his eyes and saying nothing for a moment, clearly not enjoying being brushed off.

Olette swallowed as she saw something intense flash over Seifer’s expression before he scoffed. “What, am I interrupting your little date, lovebirds?” He teased. Olette blinked when she saw Seifer’s jaw tense as he spoke the last word. She glanced at Hayner with a surprised look, and he gave her the same expression, quirking his eyebrow.

“Uh, we’re not on a date. We were working on a project.” Hayner explained, sipping the milkshake.

It happened pretty quickly, but Olette caught it. Seifer’s eyes glanced towards the milkshake, glaring slightly and then he met her gaze for a split second before letting out a huff of air and turning around with his chin held high.

“Yea, there's a whole lot of work going on between you two lamers.” He called out to them, walking towards the front counter to order a drink. Hayner rolled his eyes, passing the milkshake to Olette.

“He’s such an idiot.” Hayner muttered, resting his elbows on the table. “Anyone who knows me would know I’d never date you.” He teased, grabbing the milkshake back from Olette after she took a sip and grinned wickedly.

And while Olette laughed and threw a pack of sugar sitting on the table at him in retaliation, she couldn’t help but think the same thing. Hayner was definitely like a brother to her, and there was no way she could ever see him any other way. It was the same with Roxas and Pence. She glanced over at Seifer, sitting across the diner with a cup of coffee in front of him and his arms crossed, staring out the window. Her expression softened and she stared at him thoughtfully, deciding she would do something.

The two friends finished their milkshake and gathered up their belongings, walking towards the exit of the diner. Olette said she needed to use the washroom before she left and waved bye to Hayner for the evening. She walked into the bathroom, leaning against the sink as she checked her phone for a minute to waste some time. Then she checked her appearance in the mirror out of habit and exited the bathroom.

She scanned the restaurant quickly, making sure Hayner didn’t come back, then walked over to where Seifer was sitting with his coffee in front of him still and staring out the window. She slid into the booth across from him, watching his eyes widen slightly as he realized she sat with him. Then he glanced back outside, crossing his arms and frowning.

“Something you need?” He asked lowly, a slight edge in his voice. Olette saw him tapping his index finger against his arm in a steady rhythm.

She shook her head side to side. “I just wanted to tell you, we really weren’t on a date. Hayner and I don’t see each other that way.” She explained.

Olette noticed the tapping still for just a moment out of the corner of her eye before Seifer started up again. He scoffed slightly, closing his eyes.

“I don’t know why you’d think I care.” He sneered out at her. She pressed her back against the booth, resisting the urge to smile. Seifer _did not_ want to give any kind of acknowledgement to his comments earlier and what the underlying message of them meant. She was okay with that. As much as she grew to tolerate Seifer as well, she wasn’t exactly looking to be his close friend all of a sudden.

“Of course not,” she began. Her tone of voice caught Seifer’s attention and he turned his head towards her. “Why would you?” She asked, shifting herself out of the booth and catching the surprised look on Seifer’s face. She brought her hand to her mouth, pressing her index finger and thumb together and mimicking a zipper closing shut. She gave him a small smile and turned around, calling out a goodbye to Seifer as she mentally stored the look of bewilderment on his face that he just gave her.

She walked out of the diner, smiling to herself as she finally confirmed at least some of her suspicions. Seifer clearly had some kind of attraction towards Hayner. Imagine what would happen if he heard that out loud, or if Roxas or Pence heard that. They’d probably fall over in shock. Of course, Olette knew she would never speak a word of her new revelation to anyone, but the thought alone made her giggle to herself quietly.

Olette assumed that after she found out about Seifer’s feelings towards Hayner, the two would talk it out (or fight it out, whatever way they felt like doing it) and deal with their situation within a couple months at the most. This however, was far from reality. If anything, the tension began to grow between them. Their fights became more intense, the two boys getting very worked up whenever they practiced Struggle together. Olette had noticed that Seifer began leaning down to Hayner’s ear and whispering things to him during their fights occasionally. Sometimes, it made Hayner growl and strike at the older teen. Other times, his face would flush red in embarrassment and Olette really wished she could have heard what Seifer said.

As the boys continued to dance around each other and not actually talk about their emotions, Olette could tell they were visibly coming out in other ways; Mainly aggressive ones. Hayner was sparring a lot more, much to Roxas’ dismay, and after the seventh day in a row of Struggle, the blue-eyed blond finally caved, saying he was too sore to spend another three-hour session of being beaten around with a Struggle bat. So, Hayner turned to Pence, urging to get back into the sport. The brunet had looked away sheepishly, proclaiming that he liked to watch, rather than play himself.

Seifer seemed to be angrier than lately as well. It seemed like every time Olette saw him in the hallways has was telling Fuu to add a bunch of different names to their list. When Olette and Hayner were walking to class one day, Seifer walked by them and bumped Hayner’s shoulder. Whether it was accidental or not, Olette was unsure, but Hayner cursed at the older bully and called him a blind oaf. The next thing Olette knew, Seifer had her friend up against a set of lockers and was leering down at him.

Olette was actually a little concerned that this might turn into something more aggressive, looking sheepishly at the students passing by them with shocked expressions on their faces. She smiled nervously, waving to the worried students and then turned sharply to the boys, her eyes serious. She opened her mouth to tell them to cut it out, but paused when she saw the way Hayner’s eyes glinted as he stared up at Seifer confidently, a small smirk on his face. And she saw how Seifer’s gaze lost some of its edge, and his grip onthe shorter blond’s collar loosened slightly. 

Then it was over in a moment. Seifer let go of Hayner completely and scoffed, walking down the hallway silently. The brown-eyed blond watched him walk away, his gaze following the bully’s retreating form intently, before he brushed himself off, turning to Olette and rolling his eyes like what just happened was such a nuisance.

Now, Olette considered herself a trustworthy person. She didn’t want to tell Hayner that she knew him and Seifer both liked each other, even though Hayner was one of her best friends and telling him probably would get the ball rolling. She just couldn’t bring herself to utter the words. Who was she to take that admission of feelings away from Seifer? Or Hayner for that matter? Olette had still never actually brought up the situation with him. So, what if he was still trying to work through it on his own, and who was she to try and explain his own feelings and actions to him? Hayner had never even admitted he had an interest in guys.

But she was beginning to become a little annoyed with the games if she was honest. And she could see right through Hayner. Even though he just rolled his eyes at her nonchalantly, she could tell there was something deeper, something that would start taking an emotional toll on the blond.

A year later, Roxas _finally_ began to notice something between the two. Olette saw his blue eyes narrow in thought one afternoon as they watched Hayner spar with Seifer. The two were barking out taunts at each other, pausing every now and then to clash their Struggle bats together. Olette winced when Seifer hit Hayner’s arm hard enough for him to flinch back.

“Is it just me, or is there something weird about those two lately?” The spiky-haired blond asked in a thoughtful manner. Olette glanced to the side, trying to keep her laughter from bubbling out. _Lately…_ she thought to herself sarcastically. _More like years_.

Pence spoke first, shaking his head. “I don’t notice anything different. They seem the same to me.”

 _Oh Pence_ , Olette thought to herself. These boys were absolutely _clueless_.

“What about you Olette? You’re good at reading people.” Roxas asked, glancing at the brunette. Olette looked over to Roxas, opening her mouth to just agree with him. She wasn’t even going to explain anything or tell them she knew Seifer and Hayner both liked each other. But then Olette glanced towards the boys who were now wrestling, their Struggle bats discarded on the ground and she paused, thinking back to the night at the diner with Seifer and how it wouldn’t be fair of her to tell Roxas and Pence.

“I’m with Pence on this one. They seem pretty normal to me.” She lied, smiling faintly. Roxas stared at her for a moment before he shrugged, saying he was probably reading into it too much. She nodded along, exhaling slowly as Seifer pinned Hayner’s wrists down on either side of him, claiming victory. She had to resist the urge to shake her head in defeat. There was only so much she could say before their actions spoke louder than her words.

But then Roxas asked her about it again when they were sitting together in art class the next day. They sat in the back together, working on their acrylic paintings. Olette sighed as she dipped her paintbrush into some blue paint and began stroking the bristles against the canvas.

“Roxas, why are you so hung up on this? Is something wrong?” She asked quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to them.

Roxas paused, looking at Olette’s hand as she worked. “No, nothings _wrong_ per say. It’s just, I feel like there’s something going on between the two of them.”

 _Oh, I wish that was the case._ Olette thought silently to herself. “What do you mean? That’s kind of vague.”

Roxas rested his elbows on the table, leaning a little closer to her. “I dunno ‘Lette. It’s like, there’s this tension between them.” He said lowly, glancing around them to make sure no one was listening.

She bit her lip, trying to hold back a grin. She couldn’t help herself. “Tension?” She asked back, her eyes crinkling at the edges as she suppressed her laughter.

Roxas leaned even closer to her, so that he was pretty much right next to her ear.

“You know, like _sexual_ tension.” He whispered.

Olette had to excuse herself to the bathroom so she could finally release the laughter built into her, holding her sides as she cramped up from laughing so much. She wasn’t sure how much more of this she was going to be able to take before she cracked. When she returned, she apologized to Roxas for leaving abruptly, and said he was probably getting too many head injuries from Struggle to think that Hayner and Seifer had some weird chemistry between them.

Roxas hummed in objection, saying he still thinks so, but then shrugged and dipped his paintbrush into his water to clean it off.

“Well, not like it matters anyway. I heard Seifer hooked up with a girl at a party this past weekend.” The blond said casually, dipping into his paint.

Olette stopped, staring at her canvas blankly.

_What?_

She reached for her phone, pausing her music. She needed to be fully attentive now.

The brunette breathed slowly, continuing to paint. “Really? I didn’t realize you kept up with the gossip.” She teased, flickering her gaze to him and smiling.

He rolled his eyes at her, letting out a breath of amusement. “I don’t. Axel was at the party that night and mentioned it in conversation.” Roxas explained.

Olette clenched her jaw slightly, looking back to her painting. She wanted to ask about it more, but thought that talking to Roxas about it would make him even more suspicious about Seifer and Hayner, and potentially lead him to finding out the truth them. She hated lying to her friend, but hoped that he would understand. So, she kept her thoughts to herself, telling Roxas that if Axel was telling the truth, that was enough reason not to think there was anything between Hayner and Seifer.

But on the inside, Olette was fuming. She wanted to march out of class and find Seifer so see could clock him in the head with her fist. Was he trying to play some kind of jealousy game? Did Hayner even know this happened? What would he do if he _did_ find out?

Well, eventually he did.

It was only a couple weeks later when he found out. Olette, Pence and Roxas were sitting in the Usual Spot on a Tuesday afternoon following school. They heard the gate slam open and looked towards the entrance in surprise. Olette jumped slightly, watching Roxas stand up and clench his fist apprehensively. Pence sat still, his eyes widened in shock.

They all relaxed when they saw it was just Hayner, but Olette’s attention was caught as soon as she saw him. He was out of breath and flushed red with anger, his eyes filled with a mixture of rage and hurt.

“Hayner?” She asked quietly, standing up slowly. “What’s the matter?”

The brown-eyed blond looked at her, breathing heavily. She saw the raw pain in his eyes, and tried to keep her expression calm. But she had a feeling she knew what the issue was. Hayner looked away for a moment, shaking his head and bringing a hand to his mouth. She thought he was actually going to open up to them, and tell them about everything that had been going on.

But then his eyes lit up with a sudden fire and he growled, letting out a yell.

“Stupid asshole!” He yelled, kicking over a nearby wooden crate. It went toppling over, crashing against the wall and hitting other crates loudly, causing them to topple over. Olette let out a yell in surprise, bringing hand to her mouth and moved towards Pence and Roxas slowly.

“Hayner!” Pence yelled. “What are you-“

The hot-headed blond interrupted him, picking up a smaller wooden crate and hurling it towards the wall. “That _goddamn_ son-of-a-bitch!” He yelled. The crate hit the wall loudly and the wood splintered into multiple pieces around them.

“Alright that’s enough!” Roxas yelled out, running towards Hayner. Olette watched the scene unfold anxiously, her eyes full of worry. The two blonds grappled with each other, Hayner screaming out for Roxas to leave him alone and Roxas screaming out for Hayner to calm down. The brown-eyed blond let out a strangled cry after neither of them overpowered each other, falling back and stumbling. He shook his head, turning around and running out even after Roxas called his name and told him to come back.

The blue-eyed blond turned back to the other two, looking at them frustrated.

“What the hell was that?” He asked, panting lightly.

Pence shook his head, his eyes stilled widened in shock. “I have no idea. Something must have happened.” He said, walking over to the broken pieces of wood and kicking them to the side. Olette stayed silent, unable to hide the anxiety on her face as she stared and her feet, wringing her hands nervously.

“Olette?” Roxas asked, jolting her out of her daze. She gasped and looked up at his suspicious gaze, then fumbled on her words for a moment.

“I, uh… I don’t know either. But it m-must have been bad.” She managed to get out, her throat feeling tight. She still felt shocked from Hayner’s outburst, not used to his temper flaring that badly before.

The blond’s eyes softened on her. “Hey, Olette. It’s okay.” He said, walking towards her and reaching out a hand. “He’s just upset is all. He didn’t mean to scare you.”

She took a step back, shaking her head. “M’fine Roxas.” She said quietly. Roxas opened his mouth to say something else, but no words came out.

“Guys?” Pence asked, catching their attention. The brunet stared at them, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “I think I’m going to go look for Hayner to make sure he’s okay.” He said.

Olette nodded slowly. “That’s a good idea Pence. We’ll stay here and clean this up.” She said, offering him a small smile. He nodded back at her and ran out of their spot, off to look for Hayner. Olette turned away from Roxas to go clean up the toppled crates.

“Hey.” Roxas called out to her. She paused, wincing lightly. She guessed she wasn’t off the hook so easily this time.

“Come on Olette, I know you know what’s going on here.” The blond said.

Olette looked to the ground, feeling the last of her resolve start crumbling. She had kept it a secret for so long, but she couldn’t keep lying to Roxas. She wasn’t even able to sound convincing if she tried at this point, so what option did she have left?

She turned to him, staring at him for a moment before she opened her mouth. “They both like each other, but neither know.” She said simply.

Olette watched the surprise flash over Roxas’ eyes before he furrowed his eyebrows. She held her breath, unsure of what he was going to say.

“I _knew_ it!” He yelled, pointing a finger at her accusingly. “A couple weeks ago in art when I brought it up, _you knew!_ ”

“Roxas!” She cried. “That’s hardly what’s important right now!”

The blond shook his head. “Oh, yea right…sorry.” He mumbled sheepishly, turning to the side and running a hand through his hair.

“So, what are we going to do?” Roxas continued, glancing at Olette.

She raised her eyebrow at him. “ _We’re_ not going to do anything.”

“What? Why not?” The blond asked, crossing his arms and frowning.

Olette closed her eyes, shaking her head. “You can’t just go around playing matchmaker with people’s emotions.” She explained.

“We’re not playing matchmaker, you just said they both like each other! All we need to do is tell one of them, and then they can talk it out or something.” Roxas replied.

“No, Roxas. We aren’t going to meddle in people’s lives.”

“We wouldn’t be _meddling_ , we’d be helping! Sometimes people need that push.”

“They need to figure it out by themselves.” Olette declared, turning back around and rearranging the crates.

Roxas let out a sigh, murmuring a “fine”, and dropping the subject. Pence texted them half an hour later, letting them know Hayner ended up going back home, but wouldn’t tell him anything about why he was so upset.

The next day at lunch Olette arrived to their usual table a little late, having to stay after class in math for a few minutes to ask her teacher a question about their homework. She walked up to their table and when her eyes landed on Hayner, she bit her lip nervously.

Her friend sat at the table next to Roxas and across from Pence, resting his head in his hands and staring down at the table with a somber expression on his face. Olette gulped as she sat next to Pence, offering him an uncertain smile.

“Hey guys.” She greeted quietly, nodding at Roxas. She bit her lip again when Hayner didn’t respond to her, the teen sighing quietly to himself.

She cleared her throat. “Hi Hayner.” She tried again. He finally looked up at her and she held back the concerned look that almost came to her face. Hayner looked like he hadn’t slept a minute the previous night, his eyes dark and tired from the lack of sleep. He looked exhausted, like he was struggling to function as he was now. The brown-eyed blond grunted out a response to her that she couldn’t quite make out, and then looked down at the table again.

She glanced at Roxas, seeing the blond was staring at her with a knowing look. Olette pursed her lips at Roxas, mouthing the word “no”, and then pulled out her lunch, her mood lowering for the rest of the day. In history, Hayner sat at his desk with his arms crossed on the desk and kept his head low as they watched a movie about World War II. Olette sighed, glancing away and trying to focus on her work.

But after nearly a consecutive week of Hayner moping, Olette just about had it. She was already in a bad mood on the following Monday at school, running late because her alarm didn’t wake her up that morning. Then as she was walking to school, she spilled her tea on her new dress. She groaned, nearly throwing her drink across the street and turning around to go back home to write the day off. But she decided to pursue on, knowing that her parents would never let her get away with that.

So Olette continued, grumbling to herself as she adjusted her bag on her shoulder and saw the school come into sight. She checked her phone, seeing that she was already twenty minutes late to class and sighed heavily. She entered the building, turning down a hallway to walk towards the stairwell. She tripped walking up the stairs and cursed loudly, rubbing at her knees where she fell and almost screamed in frustration when she saw the runs in her panty hose.

That was about it. Olette was already having a disaster of a day, and knew that her mood would be sour for the rest of it. She stomped up the stairs to the second floor, slamming the stairwell door open harshly and walking down the hallway.

When she looked up and saw Seifer staring into his locker down the hallway, her eyes sharpened. He looked up at her loud entrance, watching her walk towards him with a bored expression on his face. When she was closer, she balled her fists, purposely looking ahead of her and ignoring him. Just as she walked by him, he spoke.

“Jeez, I thought Hayner looked like shit today. Looks like he’s got some competition.” He spoke.

Olette stopped in her tracks, staring ahead of herself and pausing. Then, she took a breath and turned around to face Seifer. When he looked at her expression, his gaze became apprehensive and he narrowed his eyes slightly.

She said nothing as she took a step towards him, the sound of her ankle boots clicking down the quiet hallway. Olette paused when she stood in front of him, holding Seifer’s unsure gaze.

Then she pulled her fist back and punched him in the face, sending him backwards into his locker. The bully let of a startled yell, his hand instinctively reaching for his face.

“Jesus _Christ_ you psycho! What the hell was that for?” He spat out, keeping his voice low as to not alert any nearby classes.

Olette shook her hand out, wincing as her knuckles felt sore. Then she looked at Seifer again and forgot about the pain temporarily, her temper spiking. She pulled her fist back instinctively to hit him again and the older teen let out a quiet noise of surprise, ducking out of the way and putting some distance between them.

Olette turned towards him, stalking towards him slowly. He backed up with each step she took towards him, growling quietly.

She raised her hand to point at him as she began. “You are seriously a sick person.”

Seifer glared at her, his back pressed against the lockers on the opposite side of the hallway. “What are you talking about?” He grunted out.

She stopped in front of him, pointing her finger at his chest. “Is Hayner some toy for you to play with whenever you want? And then when you get bored of him you go hook up with random girls at parties?” She asked icily, her voice low and accusing. “Cause if that’s what this whole thing has been all along, then I am seriously going to make it my _mission_ to ruin your life.” She growled at him.

He stared at her with a genuine look of shock for a moment before he sneered, pushing her hand away from himself. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He mumbled quietly, looking away.

Her anger flared and she crossed her arms, clenching her jaw. “Then _explain_.” She nearly whispered.

“I didn’t ‘hook up’ with anyone. The girl you lamers are making shit up about was this girl I grew up with who I used to have a crush on.” He said, rubbing at his sore cheek that was already beginning to turn red.

She lunged forward again but he caught her wrists, halting her. “I said _used to,_ you dumbass!” He shouted at her. She pulled back and huffed, turning away and fuming silently to herself. A few moments later a teacher came out of a nearby classroom and told them to get to class or he’d write them up. Olette smiled sheepishly, apologizing sweetly to the teacher and telling her they’ll be on their way. The teacher frowned but nodded, returning into his class and closing the door sharply.

Olette turned back around to Seifer and glared again, her demeaner returning to beyond pissed. She walked to his locker and closed it abruptly, ignoring his protest. She approached him again and grabbed his wrist, leading him out to the stairwell for more privacy. She let go of him when they stood in the stairwell and then crossed her arms, staring at him angrily.

“Here’s what’s going to happen Seifer. You’re going to admit to Hayner you have feelings for him by the end of school, today.” She explained slowly, leering at him.

He scoffed quietly, rolling his eyes. “No, I’m not.” He said boredly.

She grabbed the collar of his jacket, pushing him against the wall and leaning her face close to his.

“ _Yes._ You are.” She snarled out.

He placed his hands overtop of hers and gripped them tightly.

“ _No. I’m not._ ” He responded.

Olette was about to say something else to him when she heard her name called quietly. She blinked, glancing behind her to see Hayner, standing on the steps about ten feet away from them and staring with a shocked expression.

She had to think quickly, knowing this wasn’t a good position for Hayner to walk in on. But then her instincts kicked in again and she glanced back to Seifer, staring at him seriously.

“Then I’m going to do it for you.” She stated, cocking her head to the side.

Before he could say anything in response, she leaned up to him and pressed her lips against his. Seifer froze, stunned by her actions and then Olette pulled away a few seconds later. She let go of Seifer, stepping backwards and turning to Hayner.

“Hayner, I’m so sorry. He just told me he loves me.” She lied, trying to sound as convincing as possible. She tried not to wince as Hayner’s expression began to fall.

“What!?” Seifer yelled incredulously, catching Hayner’s attention. “No, I did not!” He denied, holding an arm out in front of himself. “You just saw that Chickenwuss, she turned to me and kissed me!” He explained in an angered panic.

Olette breathed slowly, keeping her heartbeat calm. She had to keep going with this. Seifer was getting nervous, and there was a chance she could use that to her advantage. She looked back at Hayner, taking a step towards him.

“He’s just saying that because of our history.” She contradicted, biting her lip and trying to look guilty. “He was worried it would make things weird if we started dating.”

Hayner’s expression became heartbroken again, staring at Olette with such hurt in his eyes. She thought for a moment that maybe this wasn’t the smartest idea, playing with his emotions like this. But there was no turning back now. She had to run with it if she wanted to see this through properly.

Seifer stepped forward as well, instantly denying it again. “She’s lying, lamer. None of that is true!” He spat out.

“Yes, it is!” She protested. She looked at Seifer and feigned a sweet smile. “I already knew for awhile though. Anytime we were together, I just had this feeling.”

Seifer shook his head, groaning lowly. “You are such a liar! What are you trying to do!?” He asked her furiously, rubbing a hand across his face.

"It was like, even though we fight a lot there's always been something else underneath it all." Olette continued.

A low groan erupted from Seifer in protest, his attempts at denying it dying in frustrated noises.

"Something I haven't been able to truly understand until today." She added.

She took a deep breath, opening her mouth and looking from Seifer to Hayner. “He told me he’s been in love with me since he was fourteen.” She cooed.

Seifer stepped forward in between Olette and Hayner the moment after she said it, pointing a finger accusingly at Olette. “I’ve been in love with him since I was _thirteen_ you liar!” He roared.

Olette’s eyes glinted as soon as the words left his lips and a wicked smile sprouted across her face.

Seifer froze, and then glared at her heatedly.

“ _You_ _manipulative bitch_.” He whispered furiously.

She giggled slightly, watching Seifer turn around to face Hayner nervously, rubbing the back of his head. Hayner stared at them with a look of confusion still on his face, accompanied by a bright red blush.

“I—you,” Hayner tried, opening and closing his mouth. “What is going _on_?” He asked exasperatedly.

Olette smiled at Hayner sheepishly. “He doesn’t actually love me Hayner. I said that so he would finally tell you the truth.” She explained, stepping closer to him. She placed her hand on his arm, rubbing it slightly. “I’m sorry. It was the only way I could get him to do it.”

Hayner stared at Olette with a flabbergasted expression, still trying to process everything. The he looked over at Seifer, who was staring at them with a wary expression, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

The three of them stood in silence, until Olette sighed.

“Well?” She urged, looking at Seifer pointedly.

“Would you scram?” The bully asked, glaring at her with a flushed face and crossing his arms.

Olette shook her head. “Shut up. I’ve been along for this ride the whole time, I’m seeing it to the end.” She growled.

Hayner stepped forward towards Seifer silently, catching the older teen’s attention again. He looked down at Hayner nervously, tensing his jaw.

“Since you were thirteen, huh?” The shorter blond asked, standing close to him.

Seifer scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Unfortunately.” He admitted, dropping his arms at his sides. Olette pursed her lips, shaking her head to herself.

“What about that girl at the party?” Hayner asked.

The older teen exhaled, looking at Hayner softly. “A girl from the past. She means nothing now.” He explained quietly. Olette smiled slightly at his tone, believing every word he said.

“Good.” Hayner said simply, putting his hands in his pockets nervously while he glanced at his feet. Neither of them knew what to say to break the silence, unsure how to proceed. Olette cleared her throat quietly and they both looked at her in surprise. She folded her hands in front of her, finally feeling her temper cool down and like she could actually enjoy the rest of the day.

“Now, how about you define what you want from each other.” She suggested gently.

Seifer and Hayner looked at her blankly, then at each other blankly.

“People do this?” Hayner asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“ _Yes_!” She bit out. Hayner jumped at her tone, gulping and looking at Seifer again.

“Well, um.” He tried. “I…I guess I want us to be…exclusive?” The brown-eyed blond stuttered out, unsure of himself.

Seifer swallowed thickly, nodding and tapping his finger against his leg nervously. “Yea. That sounds…fair.” He responded.

“Oh my god, this is like pulling teeth.” Olette groaned out, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“We’re trying!” Hayner protested, glancing at Olette. He looked up to Seifer again, searching his eyes. “It’s just, well…I’ve never been with someone like… _that_.” He said.

“Like what?” Olette asked softly, trying to coach her friend.

Hayner kept his eyes on Seifer, placing his hand around the taller teen’s neck. “Like, we’re dating.”

The blue-eyed teen stared down at Hayner seriously, his eyes filled with uncertainty.

“And is that a bad thing?” Olette asked.

Hayner shook his head, biting his lip. “No. It just makes me feel nervous about what I should do.” He explained.

Seifer opened his mouth to try and form a response, but came up short.

“Are you nervous too, Seifer?” Olette asked quietly. Seifer swallowed again, licking his lips as he stared down at Hayner.

“Yea.” He admitted quietly. “But that doesn’t make me not want to try.”

Olette stared at the two with a hand to her heart, feeling exhausted and relieved that this was finally being dealt with.

“Me too.” Hayner said, pressing himself closer to Seifer and smiling at him slightly. The older teen offered him a small, genuine smile back and Olette felt her heartstrings being tugged at.

She cupped her hands around her mouth and whispers loudly to them.

“Seal the deal with a kiss!” She called out encouragingly.

“ _Olette!”_ Hayner cried out in embarrassment, looking towards her. He let out a noise of surprise when Seifer grabbed his chin, turned his face back to him and pressed his lips softly against Hayner’s.

At lunch later that day, Roxas gave Olette an unimpressed look when he found out what she did.

“I thought you said meddling in people’s lives was _bad_.” He muttered, crossing his arms over the table.

She sighed deeply, closing her eyes. “Well, you were right. Sometimes people need a push.” She said, looking over to Seifer and Hayner, who were arguing about something as they stood in line to order food together. Olette rolled her eyes, not really expecting much to change with their dynamic, but she was happy they at least finally admitted their feelings towards each other.

“In their case, they needed a rough shove off a cliff.” She added, taking a bite of her food.

"Hey, I forgot to ask when they were over here, but what happened to Seifer?" Pence asked, sipping his chocolate milk. "It looks like Hayner smoked him in the face."

Olette glanced down at her bruised knuckle, moving her hand to her lap and shrugged slightly.


End file.
